You can do this, but we will be forced to add a disclosure to the resale certificate form that any attachments being provided were not provided by us and can’t be guaranteed to be the most current, complete or accurate documents. This disclaimer must be offered because we can’t be certain of which documents you will use.
This is especially important as it pertains to current financial reports. Often we receive resale certificate orders which need a more current financial report that isn’t completed yet. We will then hold the order, not past the due date, until the most current report is completed. This is not a possibility if you exclude the document package.
Another area you may fall short on trying to do things this way are the governing documents. Often only the documents currently in effect are shared to the Resident Center to prevent confusion. For a resale certificate, all governing documents from the formation of the association should be included, including documents that have since been rendered obsolete by newer documents.
For the additional $30 you aren’t just getting the documents themselves; you are also getting our time and coordination to ensure all documents are complete and up-to-date. It is thus recommended to just get the full package. This also shifts the liability to us instead of you if anything is incorrect or inaccurate.
We charge for these documents to offset the amount of time our staff spends processing them, ensuring all of the documents are included and all information is accurate and current. Of course, some of this cost also covers the use of HomeWiseDocs.com to process these documents.
These services are intentionally not included in the management contract we have with your community for two reasons. First, there is no way to know how many of these documents we will need to process in a given timeframe to be able to account for it in our management fee. Second, by billing the homeowner who is selling their property it prevents all owners from having to share in the cost burden when there is no benefit to them, and it keeps the costs strictly allocated to the owner who is creating the need.
While our competitors all have their own processes that may differ from ours, we are not aware of any other competitor in our market who doesn’t charge for this process. Some charge at closing instead of upfront, some use different platforms such as CondoCerts or don’t use a third-party platform, but we aren’t aware of anyone who doesn’t charge in some capacity for this service.
We do receive anonymized data from HomeWiseDocs.com and review it once per year. We ensure the pricing is either in line with or below average for the market.
You can obtain this at HomeWiseDocs.com by ordering the Trustee Letter. If you have any questions about using their website to make your order, please contact them directly. We contract with HomeWiseDocs instead of other service providers to complete this process because they have excellent, US-based customer service when you need it. Do not order the Trustee Letter Package unless instructed to do so. The package includes documents you likely already received with the Resale Disclosure Package, and there’s no need to pay more to get the same documents twice.
However, before you do, even if you are following the instructions of your Realtor, please double check with the closer at your title company to make sure they want you to do this. The trustee letter, also called a demand letter, is a time-sensitive document your title company uses to prove there are no balances owed at closing and no unresolved violations. Or, if there is an outstanding balance or violation, the balance can be collected at closing and the buyer can go into their purchase knowing what violations they are inheriting liability for. If this is ordered too early the data will be out of date, and updates after a certain point cost additional fees. If it’s ordered too late, it may not be processed in enough time for closing. Usually, but not always, title companies will order these themselves and just ask you to provide the payment method. You don’t want to waste money double-ordering something already ordered, as once processed it’s non-refundable. You also don’t want to order this with the wrong timing. So please double check with your closer at the title company before you do this.
The resale certificate can be obtained by you our your Realtor at HomeWiseDocs.com. If you have any questions about using their website to make your order, please contact them directly. We contract with HomeWiseDocs instead of other similar providers to complete this process because they have excellent, US-based customer service when you need it.
It is worth noting that your association is considered an HOA or PUD, not a condominium association. Unlike condominium associations, resale certificates are not required by state law to be provided. However, in HOA/PUD communities with attached units and/or where maintenance services are provided by the association, it is commonly a requirement of a sales contract. Chances are you do need this, but we do offer the disclaimer that it is not required by state law as it is with condominiums.
The document you want to order will be called the Resale Disclosure Package. It is not called the resale certificate because this document has different requirements and different names in other states. The Resale Disclosure Package contains everything you need. Unless specifically instructed, do not order the Resale Disclosure outside of the package. This won’t include the required attachments you need.
You can read more about the resale documents available here.
